


Imposter

by VoyagerWisp



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Team Rocket - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-07 04:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4248921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoyagerWisp/pseuds/VoyagerWisp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ditto with a new ability can copy not just appearance and moves, but also power. While stopping the reckless treatment of these unique ditto, Duplica meets Mondo, a fellow ditto trainer that loves these pokemon as much as her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Duplica

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a two shot, giving time for both characters' POVs. I hope you all enjoy it. Yes, Mondo is a canon character.

The lights were dimmed. Duplica stood backstage, her posture straight, ready for the performance to begin. Just a quick peek through the curtain wouldn't hurt. As Duplica saw what was outside, she drew her breath in surprise. The auditorium was packed. She looked again and grinned, unable to find one empty seat from her estimation. Perhaps it really was sold out, a huge venue like this.

This was what she'd been promised, yet she could still hardly believe it was happening in front of her. The company she was currently working for had made many promises they couldn't keep, so she'd hadn't dared to get her hopes up. Yet here she was, in Castelia City in Unova, in front of the kind of crowd she'd always dreamed of.

The announcer began, and Duplica maintained attention despite her high excitement. Even if this hadn't been the context she'd dreamed of, she'd still try her best. At home in Imite House, even with the tiniest of audiences, she'd always given everything to that one performance.

She'd do the same here, even if this particular stunt hadn't been _her_ idea specifically. That was part of having a boss, rather than working out of her own place. But far from feeling artistically slighted, Duplica knew this was a good idea.

"And now, without a second more delay, let me present the champion of Unova, Alder!"

Before the announcer had even finished the introduction, Duplica had dashed out onto stage. Once in sight, she began to walk slowly like she'd observed Alder doing before in various videos. She waved, perfectly imitating his greeting of the crowd, as well as his cool, collected smile.

Walking toward the announcer, Duplica observed the closest audience members. She could see a bit of confusion on their faces. They could tell something was off about their champion, but most weren't quite sure what yet. Duplica smirked, grabbing the microphone. "Thanks," she said in an affected deep voice. Sure she wasn't the perfect copy, but she could fool plenty of people.

At least for now, that was. As Duplica spoke center stage, someone else came out from the side. "Well, well, what's this?" he asked.

It was the real Alder, a little bit late. There was murmuring and even a few shouts of excitement from the audience. Duplica spoke into the microphone, still standing up straight and imitating Alder's confident air. "I'm Alder, Unova's current champion," she said.

"Is that right?" Alder said, a bemused grin appearing on his face.

"Yes. Are you here for my battle?" Duplica asked. Hearing the audience's shouts and laughs, she figured this was the right time. "Go, Bouffalant!" Duplica threw out a smoke bomb along with Mini-Dit's pokeball. As the smoke cleared, the audience could see a small bouffalant, the image of which was blown up on the monitor for anyone who wasn't close enough to make it out.

Duplica enjoyed the audience's reaction the comments of how cute her pokemon was, but still stayed on task. She focused her attention on Alder. "If you're not my opponent, I'll have to ask you to clear the stage.

Alder scratched his head, though he still grinned. "Alright then. I guess I have no choice but to face my own tiny clone."

The audience cheered as Alder walked closer to center stage. He shook hands with Duplica before they both stepped back. At that point, Duplica did pause for a second to look around, enjoying that everyone's eyes were on her even more than the champion. They enjoyed her imitations and were on the edge of their seat for what would happen next.

"Go, Volcarona!" Alder shouted. "Quiver dance."

Alder's volcarona performed the power increasing move. Duplica had hoped he'd send out his bouffalant for the double effect, but had been prepared for any of his choices, really. No matter what he'd done, her next move would have been the same. "Return!" Duplica shouted, taking Mini-Dit back. Next, she took out the pokeball for her newest ditto. "Go, Volcarona!"

If this were her own performance, Duplica may have added a smoke effect or flashed the lights in order to distract from the fact her pokemon was a ditto in a battle like this, but that fact was important for her job, so no such theatrics were used. Her new ditto, Dittank, just appeared from its pokeball. As usual, it transformed instantly, without Duplica having to give the order, into the pokemon opposite it.

Luckily, the quick transformation impressed the audience enough. "I see where this is going now," the true Alder commented.

"Is that so? Don't underestimate a champion!" Duplica said, waving a finger in the air.

"That's good advice. Volcarona, quiver dance!"

"Volcarona, Overheat!" Duplica ordered right after Alder had given his own command.

Dittank became surrounded with fire before sending it out in all directions. Duplica held onto her wig. Given Alder's weird hair style, this was enough to send it flying. Alder's volcarona flinched as the attack hit, though it still finished its weird dance.

"It's pretty powerful for a ditto," Alder admitted.

"It's a champion's pokemon after all," Duplica said with a shrug.

"I see. Volcarona, overheat!" Alder shouted.

"Volcarona, overheat!" Duplica ordered.

Now things got really hot in the arena. Duplica had to admit that weird dance had given Alder's pokemon more power, while Dittank's waned after having done the taxing attack once. But if little Dittank could just hang on...

"Alright!" Duplica shouted despite herself. Dittank had survived the attack. "Volcarona, let's move! Hyper beam!" She'd always liked that attack. The flashy appearance of it often pleased crowds.

"Oh? Well, you as well, Volcarona," Alder ordered.

The cheers were loud as both pokemon performed the attack at once, hitting each other simultaneously. Duplica sighed as Dittank floated to the ground in a faint, transforming back to its true form. Sure, she'd fantasized about beating the champion as the champion, but in reality, the champion was the champion, after all. In any case, the crowd had been captivated by the battle.

Opening her eyes, Duplica walked forward. "I admit my loss," she said, still attempting to imitate Alder's voice. Putting her hand forward, she shook his again.

"Let's hear it for Champion Alder! As well as our very own ditto champion, Duplica!" the announcer shouted.

With the introduction of her true self, Duplica leaned her head forward. First it was a bow, then she allowed her large wig to fall off, at same time taking off her version of Alder's poncho-thing and revealing the company's t-shirt underneath. Now, Duplica could truly appreciate her audience. She turned around and waved, grinning at her adoring public.

As Duplica enjoyed the spotlight, the announcer continued. "This exhibition battle is brought to you by Ditto Innovations. Come see our selection of powerful ditto at our conference next week! The ditto champion will be giving lessons personally! What do you think of our champion's ditto, Champion Alder?"

"Ah, well, this wasn't what I had been expecting today," Alder commented as the audience laughed. "I will have to admit to Miss Ditto Master that she has an impressive pokemon."

"Thank you," Duplica said humbly. She was honestly pleased with how the battle had gone. Despite losing, she was still a bit like the star. Well, Unova was used to their champion, but not so much to the champion's imitation. When the event was finally over and Duplica left, she had several fans come up to her. They asked to see her ditto, and for her autograph, and to hear her Alder voice again.

Duplica happily complied with all requests. She then answered various questions about the ditto, since it seemed everyone wanted one after seeing her act, as well as how powerful Dittank was.

Her employers might be happy to hear that. A while ago, Duplica would have been as well. However, she'd come to see that not everyone was cut out to be a ditto trainer. Not that she would judge them based on their training prowess, but even with the new abilities, so many trainers decided that ditto were weak and abandoned them.

Eventually, the crowd thinned out. Duplica decided to stay and help with clean up. She even put back on her costume and had her picture taken with the champion. As everyone cleared out, Duplica sat at the edge of the stage, relaxing her posture as the work day appeared over.

"Excuse me? Miss Duplica?"

Duplica looked up. Among the few people left in the stadium, a teenage boy had approached her. "Yes?" Duplica asked.

The boy balled his hands in fists before grinning and shouting, "You were so amazing up there! I can't believe the mastery I saw! Truly, you deserve the title of ditto champion!"

"Ah," Duplica said. She tried to stay humble, but honestly loved how he was fawning over her right then. "Well, it's not like it's a title. I think it's just something my company thought up today, since I was fighting a real champion and all."

"Well, it should be a title. And then, there would be no one to challenge you. You'd outshine all of the rest of the ditto trainers, a light in the sky would could admire yet not quite touch."

"Thanks," Duplica said. Her new fanboy was quite over the top, but amusing with his flattery.

"So, Miss Duplica, you must tell me, will you be putting on a show at the ditto conference?"

"Well, probably. They have to get there money's worth out of me," Duplica said.

"Excellent!" Duplica's new fanboy exclaimed, raising his fist up happily. "I know your regular shows aren't just battles. I've heard they're truly entertaining! I look forward to it!"

"Um, well, you know the rule about attending the conference, right?" Duplica asked awkwardly. She didn't want to prevent anyone that wanted to from being able to see her show, but she'd fought for that rule.

"Yes, yes, of course. I'm also a ditto trainer! I've come all the way from Kanto to be here," the boy explained.

"Oh?" Duplica said with some interest. "I'm from Kanto too."

"I know that, of course! I came to admire you while I was there. To think I could meet Miss Duplica in person today. I'm actually speaking with Miss Duplica myself, right now!"

"Well, sort of," Duplica said. "It's great to meet a fan, and a fellow ditto trainer at that. Did you want an autograph or something?"

"That would be wonderful!" Duplica's fan gushed, going into his bag, and then paused a moment. "Well, actually, there is something else. It might be too much for me to ask, but then again maybe a benevolent person like Miss Duplica would consider my request."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well... You and I both traveled so far. And I really wanted to attend your lesson on ditto training. Can't you allow me in, Miss Duplica?"

"Well, as long as you're buying one of the special dittos, you get in the class," Duplica paused. "You're not buying one?"

"No!" The boy shook his head. "It would be wonderful to have another ditto, but the travel expenses were too much. Now they refuse me the opportunity to hear your wisdom."

Duplica sighed. The lessons were supposed to be for the trainers with the dittos with the special ability. Having them start the experience with reasonable expectations. Giving them some pointers for how to not just battle but appreciate their new pokemon. A lot would not be relevant to this guy without his own ditto with the special ability.

"Please, Miss Duplica. Consider it. Won't you?"

Duplica looked at the boy's wide, hopeful eyes, then grinned and looked away. There would be some of it that would be helpful to him as ditto trainer for sure. Maybe he wouldn't care about the parts that weren't. "I can't help it.... Okay. I'll make sure you can come to my personal lesson," Duplica promised with a wink.

"Really? Oh, thank you!"

"No problem. What's your name anyway?"

"Haven't I said before? I'm Mondo," the boy introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you then, Mondo," Duplica said with a smile.

"Likewise! You can't even imagine the honor," Mondo gushed.

*

She'd worked hard to get here, Duplica considered as she entered the building where the ditto conference was being held. She considered she might be selling out before, but no, she'd done her best to find the greatest solution for everyone. Sure, things were great for her too, but they'd also be great for the ditto.

Much better than they were at Imite House, that was for sure. In order to prevent the ditto from being poached, Duplica had brought them all to her house of entertainment. Except she'd not had time to concentrate on her show, not with ditto everywhere. She couldn't train them all on her own, either. Taking care of them alone took up so much time, as well as drained her money. Finding good trainers for all of them was next to impossible!

That was when she'd made a deal with the devil, so to speak. She'd never thought she'd do it, but it hadn't really turned out to be that bad. The company that had caught the ditto nearby Imite House, just for the purposes of selling had approached her. Things weren't going so well for them either, even with plenty of ditto to sell. They couldn't tell the pokemon with the unique ability from the others, leading to unhappy customers. And even the ones that by chance did get a ditto with this ability were often unhappy with the purchase, not sure how to make the best use of a pokemon with ditto's vast potential.

People were going to want these special ditto anyway, Duplica reasoned. She knew how to pick out the ones with the special ability. She also was talented at battling with ditto, even if battling wasn't her ultimate goal, rather entertaining in the spotlight. She could pick out the ditto, set some rules for selling them, help make a program to train the new trainers so to speak, and get to stand in the spotlight the entire time, all while earning back the money spent taking care of all of those ditto. Things turned out nicely for everyone.

And now, here at this ditto conference, Duplica knew that all those present were already seasoned ditto trainers. That was something she'd thought was important, though the higher ups thought it was silly. No, Duplica had insisted. Those who already had and loved their ditto were much more likely to keep a new one than those that just thought the new ability would be a defeat-proof trick. Just look at herself, who had three. These trainers would know a lot about ditto training already, including that being able to copy the opponent wasn't a magical ticket to win every battle, even with this new ability. That would help prevent ditto from being traded to trainer after trainer, or worse, just being abandoned.

Despite the hesitance of the company to accept the rule, once they had they'd decided it was a brilliant idea. Exclusivity increased the want for the special ditto. Duplica took a while to chat with various trainers in attendance. Some had been training a ditto for years, others had been doing so for months in order to earn the right to be there. Almost all were purchasing one of the special ditto that day, if they didn't already have one. Someone like Mondo was an anomaly.

"Miss Duplica!"

Duplica heard the call from behind her, almost just as she'd thought of the guy. She turned around and saw him approaching her. "Hi Mondo! Are you enjoying the conference?"

Mondo caught his breath, apparently having just ran from across the room. "Y-Yes. I found the lecture this morning fascinating!"

"Good. My lesson starts before we distribute the ditto."

"Alright! Do you mind if I ask you some questions? I mean, if you have some free time?" Mondo asked.

"Yeah. I don't mind," Duplica agreed.

"Wonderful! Can you tell me about the special ditto?" Mondo asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Duplica asked in surprise.

"I know just a little," Mondo admitted.

"Alright, then I guess I'll have to tell you. The whole of Ditto Innovations is based on getting pokemon with this special ability, you know! We call them imposter ditto."

"Right, right, I've heard of that," Mondo said. "But are they really as powerful as they say? I like my ditto, but it can't last long in most battles."

"They are," Duplica said seriously. "Well, I'd say the power of the imposter ditto is dependant totally on the power of the pokemon it's copying. So you'd better have it transform into a good one."

"Normally, that's not the case?" Mondo inquired.

"No. Normally the power of a ditto is the same, no matter what it transforms into. My first ditto is pretty strong, only because it's high level. Still, it's the same strength no matter what it transforms into. But my new ditto with the ability, my lovely Dittank, that one is only has as much power as the pokemon it copies. It's entirely dependant on them."

"Amazing," Mondo gushed. "Are you sure it's true though?"

"Well, you saw the proof when I battled Champion Alder yesterday. Could any normal ditto last that long against it?"

"Isn't it just because of your own ability as a trainer, Miss Duplica?" Mondo asked.

"Not at all," Duplica promised. "I wouldn't let Ditto Innovations use my name for a scam, you know."

"Of course not!" Mondo gushed. "Can I see all the special ditto though? Please? I want to see if mine is really different from them."

"Is that right?" Duplica said. Those with a really discerning eye, like her, could tell from just looking which ditto were the imposter ditto. "Well, I guess we can take a peek. You can help take care of them if you want. I think it's just about time for their lunch."

"You'd really let me? Alright! Thank you, Miss Duplica! Let's go, now! I want to see all of the ditto!"

With him cheering like that, Duplica felt she had to hurry up. Besides, if she dawdled too long with him making a fuss like that, others may show up and want to see. Then they'd be crowding the ditto too much. Well, the others would get their own imposter ditto soon enough. Mondo wouldn't be able to do that, so giving him special treatment she felt was justified in a way.

Duplica and Mondo traveled down the hall. Duplica had a special pass, but didn't need to use it, since everyone already knew who she was. "This guy's going to help out a little, okay?" was all she said to the person outside the door before entering into the room reserved for the ditto.

"Duplica!" the guy hired as a ditto handler cried upon her entering. "Thank goodness you're here!"

Duplica smiled but stopped herself from laughing, seeing the ditto spread out over the floor, a few attaching themselves to the wall -- or even the handler to avoid the crowds. "Alright, guys," Duplica began. "I know it's rough now, but some of you are going to your new homes before the end of the day. Then the rest of you will have a lot more space. Sound good?"

"Ditto," various pokemon whined. They all piled on top of each other to get attention from Duplica. "Alright, Mondo. I'll get the spray bottles and the pool, you help this guy with the food."

"The pool?" Mondo repeated. He followed the handler, partly because he was pushed by the various ditto in the room. About half followed Duplica, and the other half followed him.

Still observing the ditto, Mondo was handed a large paper bag. "No, don't!" the handler warned as he was about to open it. "We have to put it in the box." Mondo soon realized why he had been warned so carefully. As he and the handler poured the food into the large box in the middle of the room, the ditto jumped into bag. Luckily they were poured into the box themselves, before various other ditto jumped in to get some food.

Hearing a scraping sound, Mondo looked up and saw Duplica dragging a shallow pool nearby the feeding box. Ditto were already swimming inside it, then jumped from the pool to the feeding box, and vice-versa.

Duplica handed Mondo a spray bottle. "Ditto often like to find a damp place to take a nap. There's no place like that on the road for so many of them, so we give them a nice spray when they're done eating."

"I see. How thoughtful of you, Miss Duplica!" Mondo exclaimed. He recalled his own ditto liked to hang out in the showers. It often caused a ruckus while doing so, especially if it had chosen the women's showers which Mondo couldn't immediately run into himself. Now those actions made a little more sense.

"How did you ever manage all of this yourself?" the handler asked, rubbing his eyes as he sprayed various ditto. "I couldn't get any of this done without your help!"

"Well, you've got it, so don't worry about it now," Duplica said.

"Did you used to take care of the ditto on your own?" Mondo asked.

"They used to live at my house before I let Ditto Innovations have them. Caring for them the right away was one of my conditions."

Mondo nodded, helping spray each ditto. Once they were done, the ditto seemed very content, each finding a place near the edge of room or under furniture to sleep. Duplica prodded one off a chair and sat down, wanting to take a quick breather before her performance.

Mondo sat next to her. "So, Miss Duplica, tell me, are these all the special ditto -- the imposter ditto?" he asked.

"Yes, since those are the ones that most people are interested in buying, those are the only kind we brought along," Duplica explained.

"I see. But I can't tell, how are they different from regular ditto?" Mondo asked.

"Well," Duplica began, standing up. "Not many people can tell! Maybe you can, since you also train a ditto. Have you had it long?"

"It was the first pokemon assigned to me when I started my job. I hadn't had others before," Mondo said.

Duplica grinned. People tended to value their first pokemon the most. That plus the fact that Mondo was here in the first place led her to believe he was a dedicated ditto trainer. "Well, ditto was my first pokemon too. This was way before the imposter ditto started showing up. It's just a regular ditto. Let's see if you can notice the difference. Go, Ditto!"

Duplica threw the pokeball for her first ditto friend out. As it appeared, another came out to greet it. "Ditto?" the two pokemon said to each other curiously.

"See how my ditto is kind of like a deflated balloon with a little creature inside and the others are all like blobs of clay?" Duplica said.

Mondo was silent, carefully observing Duplica's pokemon as well as the various ditto around him. His brow furrowed and his mouth opened, looking from one to the other. Eventually, he spoke up. "They all look exactly the same to me!" he admitted.

Duplica sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. If you spent as much time around the ditto as me, then you'd figure it out, I bet."

"You really care for the ditto, don't you?" Mondo asked.

Duplica nodded. "My goal is to be an entertainer... But I can't let my pals down." She paused. She should remember that goal, and not be so selfish just because this whole thing was allowing her to get better known as an performer. "I'm going to find a place for all of them," Duplica declared. She paused, thinking of how difficult it had been to find trainers for the ditto before. And that was when she was giving the pokemon away.

Why couldn't she give one away now? Mondo seemed to be a trainer that knew how to care for ditto. Besides, they had more than they could handle. Maybe it was the company's goal to make money, but Duplica wanted to help her pokemon friends. "Hey, Mondo, did you want another ditto?" she asked.

"I've been thinking about how wonderful it would be just recently," Mondo said.

"Well, maybe I can work something out. For a discount... Or less," Duplica suggested.

"Would you really?" Mondo said, clenching his fists in excitement as his eyes lit up.

"Well, um, don't get your hopes up too much," Duplica began, feeling guilty having said something before she could promise it. "I mean, I think you would be a good choice to train one, but I don't get my way all the time."

"To think Miss Duplica would have such regard for me. I have no doubts at all that I'll get my chance!" Mondo said.

Duplica giggled. Well, she'd warned him. "Like I said, even if it's a good idea, I can't guarantee it," she said again.

"No, no, I'm positive everything will work out. You will find homes for all these ditto, Miss Duplica," Mondo assured.

Who couldn't like such an optimistic person, Duplica thought to herself as she carefully stepped around all the ditto toward the door. "Well, I'd better go get ready."

"Wait!" Mondo called. "If I might get my own, I should learn the difference between the special ditto and a regular ditto in battle. My tauros practices against my ditto all the time."

"Hey," Duplica began, turning around. "Mondo, don't-"

Before she could stop him, Mondo had already thrown out the pokeball, releasing Tauros into the middle of the room. Right away, various ditto opened their eyes, each popping into the shape of the newcomer pokemon. "What is this?" Mondo asked as he saw the tauros appearing around him.

"Send it back!" Duplica said as there began to be less and less space in the room from the increased size of the ditto imitating the tauros.

Mondo returned his pokemon, but more and more ditto kept transforming as they saw the pokemon around them. "Everyone, please, I don't think I could battle all of you," Mondo said apologetically.

"It's not that," Duplica began. "Imposter ditto can't help but jump the gun with their transformation a lot of the time," she explained as she was pressed against the wall, unable to reach the door or the place the pokeballs were kept. "Hey, you know we have to return them all to their pokeballs now, right?" she said to the handler.

"I know, I know," the handler said, tears in his eyes as he took pokeball after pokeball from the safe, returning one at a time. "I can't do it fast enough!" he whined.

Duplica crawled over the tauros-shaped ditto to help him. Mondo eventually made it over too. The three of them returned pokemon after pokemon as quickly as they could. They sat exhausted as it was over, leaning against the wall as most of the furniture in the room was either displaced or destroyed. "Well, thanks," Duplica said to no one in particular in her moment of rest.

"I'm really sorry-" Mondo began.

"It's fine," Duplica said, getting back her energy as she pushed herself to her feet. "I've got to start my performance in just an hour or so. Let's go!"

"I really wish I could see it," Mondo said.

"It starts right before my lesson, you know. In fact, it's the opening act, you could say." Duplica said.

"How kind of you to invite me, Miss Duplica. Really, I've already learned so much," Mondo said with a smile. As they walked down the hall, Duplica happily smiled back.

*

Duplica stood on the side of the stage, looking out at her audience before the lights had dimmed. She was dressed up as a ditto, and Ditto would try to imitate her. That would be something funny to start with. Duplica really had missed these kind of fun shows. Planning them and performing them used to take up a lot of her time, not that it was bad to be involved in various activities. What she was doing right now also helped others.

Duplica peeked out again into the audience, enraptured with the talk of how the imposter ditto had been discovered, though they'd all likely heard the story before. They were all happy to get one, Duplica realized. Her gaze fell on Mondo, who looked even more excited than the rest of them, his fists clenched with a wide smile on his face as he looked at the stage and then all around the room. He would probably be just as enthusiastic without the possibility of getting his own, Duplica considered. What a fun guy.

Duplica shifted her attention and stared out onto the stage. She half-listened to the story and half thought of her plans for her performance. As the time grew closer to it, Duplica opened her bag, so that she could release ditto to get ready too. Searching for the right pokeball, Duplica heard a large thud. After that, the light shut off, and she could see nothing.

"Just a few moments, ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said, raising his voice since the electricity had cut completely off, also rendering the microphone useless.

Duplica threw aside her ditto costume, fumbling through the dark and onto the stage. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We're not sure... This is really inconvenient, isn't it?" the president of Ditto Innovations said with a sigh.

"That's for sure. Should I help?"

"No, stay here. Maybe it's just a temporary problem. You should be ready to get on stage."

"Alright," Duplica agreed tentatively. She moved to the side. Eventually, all the doors to the room were opened, and daylight leaked in from the windows in the outside hall. The future imposter ditto trainers murmured among each other. Duplica could see they were getting impatient. Duplica folded her arms, pretty impatient herself. Well, before then, she'd been thinking of getting Ditto ready. Now that she could see again, Duplica opened her bag, looking for the needed pokeball.

It wasn't there. Duplica rummaged around, eventually pouring out her bag. Out came her various costume supplies, make-up, props, and Mini-Dit's pokeball. She couldn't see Ditto's pokeball at all, or even Dittank's. Panicking, Duplica reached into the pockets of her bag, still not finding her two missing pokemon.

"They're gone!" the handler exclaimed on the stage, as if reading Duplica's mind. Duplica looked up at him sharply. He was crying as he spoke to the president. "Every last ditto is gone. I just left when the power went off, and now..."

"Did the ditto leave too?" Duplica asked, jumping into the discussion.

"No. I left them in their pokeballs after that incident."

"So all the pokeballs are gone?" Duplica said. As the man nodded, she realized what was happening. Her ditto were gone, as were the ditto the company was going to sell. This wasn't just an accident. Someone had stolen them. Who would have been close enough to her to do so, as well as known where the ditto were being kept?

Duplica's eyes fell to where Mondo had been sitting. Of course, he wasn't there. Duplica grabbed her last remaining pokeball, then hurried into the hall.

She couldn't know exactly where he had gone, but logic would dictate he was on his way out. Duplica ran as fast as she could through the various halls of the convention hall and toward the main entrance. She looked down from the balcony into the room with the exit. It was absent of staff, apparently dealing with the power outage. However, Duplica saw one familiar figure. Mondo walked to the outside doors with a large backpack on.

"Wait!" Duplica shouted as she ran toward the stairs.

"Where is it?" Mondo asked himself as Duplica descended. "Ah! There it is!" he said cheerfully, grabbing something from his backpack and throwing it toward Duplica's face.

Duplica put up her hands, but the item just landed in front of her, releasing a large amount of smoke. Duplica waved her hands as she tried to get through it and to the thief. Once she did, the smoke started to clear, and all Duplica could see was the large, empty main hall. She charged through the doors and into the outside, but there was still nothing, no one around.

Duplica let out a shout of frustration, her face contorting in pain. She'd been duped.


	2. Mondo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second and last chapter, Mondo's. I admit ditto vs. ditto doesn't go exactly like it would in the games. Enjoy!

That couldn't be her real name, he considered. Even so, Domino was a really cool name, for a spectacular member of this most awesome group. He wanted to be talented and respected like she obviously was, even at her young age. So when the time came, he decided not to give his real name either.

"I'm Mondo," he said to the man in charge of the new recruits.

Despite his cool code name, Mondo didn't impress nearly as much as Domino probably did all the time. He was the last to finish most of the tasks, and physically out of shape. "I know I can get better! Give me another chance. I'll go through all the training again! I'll do twice as much as required!"

Mondo's face fell as the man looked at him humorlessly. Seeing the reaction, Mondo felt disappointed. Maybe he wouldn't get another chance, and Team Rocket was going to reject him on the spot. The man scratched his head and sighed at Mondo. "Well, Giovanni would like to talk to you personally," he said.

"Oh!" Mondo exclaimed in glee. He knew who Giovanni was, the boss of everything Team Rocket. Everyone was under him, so it had to be a wonderful news that he would talk to Mondo personally. "Right now? Where should I go?"

After being given directions, Mondo dashed through the training grounds and then into the building, not slowing down even as he entered. Along the way, he almost tripped over a meowth. "I'm sorry," he said to the two agents in front of him. "I didn't mean to hurt your pokemon. I'm in a hurry, because-"

"How about apologizing to me?" the meowth he'd ran into said, rubbing its head and squinting.

"Wha?" Mondo said, surprised to see a meowth, or any pokemon for that matter, speak aloud.

"I'm the one you ran into," Meowth pointed out, rubbing its head.

"Ah- Of course! I'm very sorry, really," Mondo said, bowing as he spoke.

"Right, you just watch it next time," Meowth said.

"But excuse me, could I ask something?" Mondo asked.

"What's that?" Meowth said.

"You can talk?! What an amazing ability! I've never seen such a wonderful meowth, no, wonderful pokemon!"

"Hey," Meowth said, grinning now that it was being praised.

"Come on now," the beautiful woman that had been walking with the Meowth spoke. "We do have other places to be."

"Right," the cool-looking man beside her agreed.

"I don't mean to disturb you," Mondo said, blushing as the lovely woman looked his way.

"It's fine. You're a new recruit, right? Good luck, kid," the woman said.

"Th-thank you," Mondo said, blushing again as he looked down. "I'm Mondo," he said.

"Jessie," the woman said with a nod.

"And James," the man added.

"I've heard of you! You're legendary!" Mondo exclaimed. These two were responsible for various acts of thievery, making Team Rocket more rich and powerful in the process.

"That's us," Jessie said.

"Right. Were you looking for something?" James asked.

Within a minute, Mondo was redirected to the boss's office. He allowed himself to get nervous only a moment before he was invited in by the secretary. Mondo opened the door slowly and stepped in. He saw the boss at his desk, another person behind him, looking through various paperwork. Mondo shut the door quickly, perhaps too loudly, then gave his greeting. "Hello, boss! I'm here as requested!" he said, saluting.

"Mondo, is it?" Giovanni said, looking through a folder on his table. "I need someone else to be in charge of supplies for the field agents. Do you think you can do the job?"

"Of course, sir! I'd be honored," Mondo declared.

"Right," Giovanni said. "I'll send you on to who can best instruct you."

Mondo nodded, about to turn his back since it seemed he was dismissed.

"Wait," Giovanni said.

"Yes sir?" Mondo asked, turning back to face his new boss's desk.

Giovanni nodded at the assistant in the room, who handed him a pokeball. "You don't have any pokemon, do you?" the boss asked Mondo.

"No, sir," Mondo admitted, wondering if that would be a problem.

"Well then, I may have to trust you with a rare species," Giovanni said.

"Really?" Mondo asked, his smile slowly reappearing.

"Yes, I think I'll trust you with this pokemon. Besides being rare, it's unique in its ability to transform into any kind of pokemon," Giovanni said, holding out the pokemon for Mondo to grab.

Mondo did so, a wide smile now definitely gracing his face. "Is it really for me?" Mondo asked, his eyes widening happily.

"Correct. This is Team Rocket's only ditto. I've decided to entrust it to you. Treat it with care," Giovanni said.

"Thank you so much," Mondo said, bowing to Giovanni as he did. "I can't say how grateful I am for this opportunity, boss!"

Giovanni nodded, and then Mondo was on his way. He went to where the secretary directed him, ready to do his job. He'd already decided before arriving at the base that he'd absolutely be a part of Team Rocket. Even if what he'd been assigned to didn't seem too glamorous, he'd follow through to the best of his ability.

But it was glamorous and exciting after all. Team Rocket itself was cool enough, and Mondo only liked it more and more as he was introduced to the various individual people that made it up. The members of the group were a collection of the most fascinating people Mondo had ever met. He was sure to try to talk to everyone, always amazed at their stories of various heists. With everyone around, always grateful to receive his deliveries of supplies, Mondo felt he had found a place he truly belonged.

Though it had been his original goal, Mondo even considered that it might be alright if he weren't a field agent. He wanted to be as cool as those agents. Domino was about the same age as him and very highly ranked in the organization, always going on exciting missions, with little time to even share the story. Other field agents were on the go all the time, like Jessie and James with the talented Meowth. These two were more willing to share their stories, and Mondo often sat with them, listening to story after story. Sometimes they seemed unbelievable, but even if they weren't true, Mondo loved to hear them.

Then one day, Mondo had a thought about himself. He'd been sitting with Jessie, James, and Meowth for a few hours out in the woods. First, Mondo had given them new supplies. Then he'd had to help them repair equipment they still had, marking a note of anything that had been damaged beyond repair. After all of that was done, Mondo cooked and fed his seniors and the great Meowth. Then he was rewarded with stories of their plots and heists. They'd told him some old stories first, but then some newer ones, lamenting their failures. Mondo encouraged them as usual. They were having a spot of bad luck, but they'd get out of it and certainly be successful. Mondo encouraged them as he always did. At the same time, he started to think... What about himself?

"Um, do you all think... Maybe I could be a field agent some day?" Mondo asked.

The expressions on Jessie, James, and Meowth's faces all changed from relaxed to startled, and Mondo felt his chest tighten up. They didn't think he could do it, and they were probably right. He really wasn't very good at anything that might be required. He couldn't be as tough or cool or collected as agents would certainly be required to be.

"Well, possibly," James was the first to break the silence.

"It's okay, you don't-" Mondo began.

"If you went off and did that though, who would we have to count on?" Jessie said.

"That's right! You're the best when it comes to what you're doing right now, Mondo," Meowth assured.

Mondo nodded, smiling again. He'd joined Team Rocket with a certain idea in mind -- that he could be the kind of cool criminal that could take anything he wanted, with his large, powerful pokemon by his side that no one could question. The reality wasn't like that at all. But the reality was better, because it was real! He really had his own pokemon, and he really was appreciated by everyone both for his skills and his company. "Thank you," Mondo said, tears entering his eyes.

"Don't thank us. Team Rocket really does need you, buddy," Meowth said.

Mondo nodded, biting his lip as he tried not to seem too overemotional.

"With you helping us, Team Rocket will take over the world for sure," Jessie added.

Even the lovely Jessie had confidence in him, so Mondo felt confidence too. He'd be part of the world-dominating group, even if he couldn't have things exactly the way he wanted. Team Rocket was a team. He had to do what was best for the group, not for himself. And to do that, he'd provide any necessary support as a part of this exciting group.

But as time went on, they didn't seem to make any more progress than before. Powerful pokemon came and went, and then no one wanted him to mention them again, pretending Team Rocket had never had them in the first place. They made no progress as far as Mondo could see. They didn't even take over Kanto, just exist as an underground criminal organization, with some but not enough influence from Mondo's point of view. It was as if they were in a constant state of just saying that things would get better, and that they'd gain more power. Mondo felt it become more and more difficult to maintain his positive support.

But that was part of his job, after all. He had to not just provide supplies to those that needed them and maintain and track those supplies, but support them all with his positive thoughts. That would allow Team Rocket to blast toward prosperity, rather than apathy that would allow him to stagnate. So Mondo berated himself every time doubt about the organization itself or anyone in it entered his mind. They were a group to be feared. They would take over the world. They were making more and more progress toward their goals every day, which would eventually lead to success.

Jessie, James, and Meowth helped Mondo maintain these beliefs just with their short visits. The group accepted each and every one of those necessary beliefs fully, despite any setbacks. So just being around them, Mondo felt his internal drive to support Team Rocket increased to full.

But eventually they stopped being around as much, or even at all. Even knowing they were traveling around to various regions to extend Team Rocket's influence, Mondo couldn't help but have his motivation decrease. But he shouldn't depend on them, or any one person or group too much. They were doing their best, so he'd have to do his best, too. Mondo had internal dialogues with himself, at first repeating conversations he'd had with Meowth and the others before, and then repeating his own positive observations about Team Rocket over and over, as well as his necessary beliefs.

They were a group to be feared.

They would eventually take over the world.

Progress was being made toward that goal.

Though not as a main player, Mondo would be right in the middle of the excitement when it happened. The supporting role was more than enough. The enthusiasm was more than enough just to get him through the day, and keep him going at his increasingly monotonous job, where agents stopped less and less often to talk to him. Mondo kept his energy up himself with the thought of how his role would lead to Team Rocket's spectacular speedy success.

"Hey. Hey!"

Hearing the woman call out for him, Mondo sat up from his break, dashing toward the front of the warehouse. He'd heard that Jessie and her partners were back in town, and hoped it would be her, but instead it was Cassidy and her partner. "Good afternoon," Mondo said, nodding politely at both of them.

"Yeah, hi. Can you get us the usual stuff then?" Cassidy asked.

"Of course. It'll just be a minute," Mondo said, then paused before running to do the task. "It's good to see you again. Has everything been going well?"

"Sort of," Cassidy said, and that was all she had to say. Her partner didn't even chime in. The two of them just looked more impatient with the question.

"I see. I hope it continues to. Well, just wait a minute here," Mondo said before running around and grabbing everything the two of them usually needed. Once he'd gathered it all, he reviewed each item one by one. Butch began to count the pokeballs, Cassidy inspect them closer, apparently making sure they had the needed modifications.

Mondo knew their scrutiny wasn't directed toward him. He was only the supplier, not the manufacturer. As they finished, Mondo smiled widely. "Is everything to your satisfaction?" he asked.

"Yeah," Cassidy confirmed as she began to carefully pack away the supplies.

"Please, allow me to help you!" Mondo insisted.

"No, it's fine," Cassidy insisted as she held up her hand. "Butch and I have our own system. We'll get it done faster ourselves."

"That's fine," Mondo said. They always refused his help, but it would be rude of him not to offer it anyway. As the other two worked, Mondo decided to make conversation. "Are you all on an exciting mission?"

"That's one way to put it," Butch commented with a smirk.

"Is that right? Give it your best! I'm sure top agents like you will be successful!" Mondo encouraged. Despite themselves, the two agents in front of him appeared to give the briefest of genuine smiles. Mondo smiled wider himself as he noticed them. Being able to affect the enthusiasm of others, even slightly, was one of his joys and personal motivators. Besides, these two hardly had much to say, so even getting them to react at all was something. They weren't always talkative and enthusiastic like the group of field agents that Mondo missed. "That's right!" Mondo exclaimed.

"What's that?" Cassidy asked.

"Have you all see the agents that recently returned from Sinnoh? You know, Meowth and-" Mondo began.

Even the hints of positive emotions disappeared from Cassidy and Butch's faces as they both scowled. "Yeah, how did those two get such a pardon anyway?" Cassidy said.

"They should have been punished, not given some special assignment," Butch said.

"D-Did they do something wrong?" Mondo asked, furrowing his brow.

"Oh, well, you know they haven't really even been officially part of Team Rocket for the longest time. They'd gone rogue, more or less," Cassidy said.

"They just kept up whenever they felt like it. No sense of responsibility," Butch said.

"B-But," Mondo began, pausing as he noticed that the other agent's attention was certainly on him. "Um, I mean, renewing one's membership, that's only paperwork. They couldn't keep up because they were out of the region for so long. They never left Team Rocket in spirit, so the rest doesn't matter!" Mondo declared, smiling and hoping the other two would mirror him.

Instead, their expressions changed to a more neutral one. "I guess that's one excuse," Cassidy said.

"I don't think so," Butch said casually, continuing the work packing the bag. "It doesn't take that much effort to stay current, even out of region. They hadn't done it just because they got too busy playing around."

"Right. Jessie thinks she's above doing what everyone else has to, I know that much," Cassidy said.

"It's not just that. They're a joke. I bet they're one of the people that still thinks Team Rocket will taken over the world," Butch said.

Mondo's eyes widened at the last comment. "But we will!" he declared immediately. "That's Team Rocket's ultimate goal, and we're making good progress toward meeting it."

"You think so? I think our ultimate goal is make money. I'll be happy if we can do that much," Butch commented.

"Come on, don't be like that," Cassidy said. "I think we need more people like Mondo around. Don't tread on his dreams."

Butch looked at Mondo's disturbed expression and shook his head. "Hey, I'm not criticizing you, Mondo. it's fine for you to be like this, because you know this is a job. You're into your job, not wasting all your time with some stupid fantasies."

"Right. Thanks for your help. We really do appreciate it," Cassidy said as she lifted one of the bags to her shoulder. The pair nodded pleasantly at Mondo before they left.

Mondo's face scrunched up as they did, trying and failing to fight the awful feeling inside him. Butch was wrong. Mondo didn't see this as a job. Jobs were boring. Jobs were just a grind, breaking one's spirit before breaking the person themselves. When Mondo had joined Team Rocket, he'd known for sure that it wasn't going to be a job, not really. That idea of world domination, it kept things exciting and fun. But it wasn't just a 'fantasy', was it?

The two that had just left seemed to think it was. From what they implied, they weren't the only ones. In fact, they implied that members that worked toward that goal with all zest was the exception in Team Rocket, not the rule. Mondo didn't want to disrespect the higher ranks in the group, so he wouldn't say it aloud, but inside his mind he denied that idea to the best of his ability. Others had to believe the same as him, didn't they?

There was no way to know for sure what others believed or didn't believe. Even understanding that, Mondo began to feel more and more disheartened as he observed his fellow Team Rocket members, not seeing them displaying much enthusiasm at all. In fact, one man commented "that'll be the day" when Mondo had brought up Team Rocket's ultimate goal himself.

Mondo carried the heavy box of pokeballs out the door as he heard it. Maybe this was just a job. Even so, there was nothing else he could do.

*

The boss wanted to see him. In the past, Mondo would have been overjoyed at having the highest ranking person in Team Rocket give him even a little attention. But this time, Mondo only thought of how the other times Giovanni had called him over to the office had been so brief, the topics lacking in importance besides. Even so, he did his job, walking over to the office on time for the scheduled appointment.

The time Mondo was invited in was an hour late, however. Mondo walked in without complaint. Before he wouldn't have complained because he'd be happy just to be seen, but now he didn't complain because he was a low ranking member that could easily be fired. Without his job, Mondo would have no money to feed himself and Team Rocket provided a roof over his head besides. He could wait as long as the boss wanted.

"Mondo, correct?" Giovanni said as Mondo entered.

Mondo nodded. "Yes, sir," he said, thinking that it would be nice if the boss recognized him on sight with how long he'd been working there.

"Good," Giovanni said. He turned to his side, where a man Mondo knew as one of Team Rocket's scientists stood.

"Well, you have the ditto, don't you?" the scientist said.

"Ah," Mondo paused. Ditto was his first pokemon, but it belonged to Team Rocket above all. "Yes, of course." After answering the questions, Mondo released Ditto, assuming it was what they wanted.

"I wasn't impressed by its battling prowess in the past. I the weakness is typical of ditto," Giovanni said.

Mondo said nothing, trying to hide his disappointment. The boss had acted like Ditto was an important pokemon when he'd first given it to Mondo. Now poor Ditto was being easily dismissed. Mondo kept a straight face, as did his ditto.

"It's not typical of the ditto with the new ability. From what I understand, these ditto can copy not just the appearance but also the power of even the rarest of pokemon exactly! I'd have to get one for myself to study it, but you can imagine how useful that kind of ditto could be."

"Yes, I can imagine," Giovanni said. He turned to Mondo. "Mondo, there's a mission for you."

Just that sentence was enough to break through Mondo's funk. He shuddered in surprise as he heard it, smiling awkwardly. "Sir, I'm not really that kind of agent, I-"

"I understand and it won't be an issue," Giovanni declared.

Mondo glanced down at Giovanni's desk, seeing his own folder on top, and trusted that Giovanni really did understand what kind of employee he was. The young Team Rocket member nodded slowly, still unsure about being given any kind of 'mission'.

"Listen carefully," Giovanni began. "This conference in Unova is restricted to trainers of ditto. Since you're the only experienced ditto trainer we have, you're going there. I want you to find out about the ditto with the newly discovered ability and report back. I don't want to waste money if they're useless, but steal one if you can."

"What ability?" Mondo asked.

"He'll explain more." Giovanni glanced to the scientist beside him.

"Alright. I'll do my best, sir," Mondo said.

"Of course. Do you have any questions for me?" Giovanni asked.

"Well, just one, if you don't mind, that is. It's more generic," Mondo explained.

"Go ahead."

With the boss's permission, Mondo asked what had been on his mind for weeks. "Sir, is world domination the ultimate goal of Team Rocket?"

"Of course!" Giovanni shouted, glaring Mondo's way. "You should know something this basic. Team Rocket will absolutely rule the world. Now stop wasting time and get to work!"

Though he'd been berated, Mondo had a smile on his face as he left. He felt giddy, even giggling a little to himself. A strong reaction like that was fitting of Team Rocket's boss. Giovanni acting like this was compatible with everything that Mondo wanted to believe. He laughed out loud in joy. The secretary stared at him, and Mondo felt a tap on his shoulder.

"If you'll come with me then," the scientist said at Mondo turned around.

Mondo went to the laboratory, where there weren't any samples of the ditto but plenty of information about the new ability. If it were true, these ditto would be very useful to various Team Rocket agents, able to provide whatever amount of power they needed. Mondo wondered what else he was expected to find out. Perhaps his exciting trip was just for someone to visually confirm the power of these ditto for himself.

Then again, he was asked to steal one. If stealing one was possible, why stop with just that? More ditto would be helpful not just to the scientists, but all of the unmotivated ranks. The more he got, the more Mondo would help everyone.

*

The bag filled with hundreds of imposter ditto pokeballs was heavy, but Mondo hardly cared other than to make a note of it. Running through the forest, he eventually stopped, leaning against a tree. Laughing to himself as he caught his breath, Mondo hugged the bag as if it were a person. Everything about the special ditto was true. He'd get praise as he brought these stolen pokemon home, but more than that Mondo became overjoyed at thinking of how the pokemon inside this bag would provide much needed motivation and faith to everyone in Team Rocket. With pokemon that could gain instant power just by copying another, even the doubters would gain some enthusiasm toward their goal.

After his short rest, Mondo stood up, staring out at Skyarrow Bridge. That was where he needed to go next, since Castelia had the most transportation options. He'd travel by boat instead of air. Making sure these pokemon made it back to Kanto with him would be far more difficult with the limits of carry on. Mondo looked toward the bridge, dragging the bag, but it wouldn't budge at first.

The stash of pokemon had seemed to grow heavier just in the small amount of time he'd sat down. Maybe the adrenaline upon his initial success had given him just a little more strength. Mondo wished he'd just taken the Ditto Innovations wheeled bag rather than his own smaller, unmarked bag. Mondo tugged. Then again, maybe it wouldn't have matter in all this dirt. Either way, this bag was difficult to carry. Mondo recalled stories of heists of this large amount of pokemon, but the agents had always had some kind of transportation ready, be it one of the hot air balloons Mondo provided or a car waiting.

He had nothing, not even a partner to count on. Mondo had just been asked to gather information on his own, after all. Though he did have his pokemon partners. Ditto certainly couldn't help, but his other pokemon might be able to . Mondo threw out its pokeball. "Tauros! I'm going to need you to carry this bag, okay?"

"Tauros," Tauros agreed, walking right next to Mondo before Mondo hoisted up the bag.

Mondo took a deep breath when he was done. He'd handled heavier stuff than this, but it was a lot to carry such a long way. "Are you alright, Tauros?" he asked.

"Tauros," Tauros confirmed.

"Good," Mondo said. "I'll take a turn once we get to the bridge. Neither of us should get too worn out."

"Tauros!" Tauros said, and then charged ahead. Mondo got his second wind and then jogged alongside his pokemon. When they finally reached the bridge, it glowed in the orange light of the sunset. The air had also reached the perfect temperature. Mondo would get to enjoy the sights as he crossed.

"Alright then, Tauros, my turn," Mondo said as they got closer.

"Excuse me, sir."

A young boy in a suit had approached Mondo. "Yes?" Mondo asked.

"Can I have your ticket to cross?" the boy asked, his hands behind his back as he looked up at Mondo with a wide-eyed expectant expression.

"We need a ticket?" Mondo asked.

"Yes," the boy said, glancing at Tauros. "If you don't have one, you can just buy one. It's just 100 pokedollars."

"Right. I've got the money... Somewhere..." Mondo said, searching around his pockets.

"Tauros!" Tauros protested. Mondo looked up, and saw the boy with his hands on the bag of pokeballs.

Mondo rushed over and was able to grab the bag back easily enough, since he was older and larger than this boy after all. As the imitation ticket taker fell, Mondo got a good look at his eyes. This person wasn't a ticket taker boy at all. "Miss Duplica," Mondo said, feigning calm as he surveyed the area for anyone else that might be after him.

It didn't appear there was. Duplica took off her hat, throwing it to the side and revealing her long pigtails. "Not bad, Mondo," Duplica said, a note of anger in her voice. "Not everyone can recognize me right away."

"I studied you for a long time before taking this mission. It's a tribute to your talent that you could fool me at all. I shouldn't have expected less," Mondo praised.

Though she'd been given a compliment, Duplica clenched her fists and scowled. "Why did you do this, Mondo? I said I'd give you one of the ditto if I could!"

"That was very generous, as expected from someone like you, Miss Duplica," Mondo admitted, clutching tight to the bag of all of the pokemon. "But I can find use for them all."

Duplica's expression lightened, though she still frowned. "Look, I can tell you firsthand that's not going to work out for you. Not even I could take care of all the ditto, even though I tried," she admitted.

"That's why you got help. I also have help, all the resources of Team Rocket." Mondo grinned as he spoke. He wouldn't brag about himself, but he had no problem bragging about Team Rocket. "We're more than qualified. I know the experts personally who care for our supply of powerful pokemon. These special ditto will be welcomed by them, by me, and by every agent that will get an opportunity to use one."

Duplica had a lopsided smile on her face, then raised her eyebrows. "Team Rocket, huh? Let's pretend I've never heard of them before. Even then, I'd say it's not going to work out for you. Raising, training, and battling with ditto takes a lot of expertise."

"You really are smart, Miss Duplica. Even then, you know, your vision is limited. I'm not a mastermind like some in Team Rocket, but it doesn't take me long to think of a strategy to use these ditto," Mondo explained.

"Use?" Duplica repeated, looking at Mondo's large black bag.

Mondo hugged the bag closer. "Yes. Using ditto with your level of skill would take expertise, I admit. Not everyone can be a ditto genius. But instead, Teams could have one powerful pokemon, and several other people with the special ditto. Then the special ditto could all transform into that powerful pokemon before battle, and we'd have exponentially more force! It'll be wonderful. Finally, we'll make progress with our goal of world domination with just a few powerful pokemon and all of these ditto."

"I've heard enough," Duplica said, grabbing her last remaining pokeball from her pocket. "Just give me back the ditto, now."

"Well..." Mondo began, putting one hand to his head as he looked away sheepishly. "Maybe it was a little greedy of me to take the two of yours. I thought even the one without the special ability could be powerful enough to be useful. The small one was a little... You know."

"That's right. You should give me back my pokemon, now," Duplica said simply.

"I know!" Mondo shouted happily. "I'll give you them back as a reward, since you were smart enough to find me. Then you can just pretend you didn't see me. Your job shouldn't hold you responsible if a thief steals the pokemon, or do they? I'd think you'd still get paid, unless they went out of business."

Duplica sighed loudly. "Come on now, Mondo. It's not about the money! I don't just want my own pokemon back, I want them ALL back."

"That won't happen," Mondo declared. His smile fell, and he narrowed his eyes at Duplica. "If you want one, you can join Team Rocket yourself then."

"Go! Mini-Dit!" Duplica shouted, throwing out her pokeball. "Mini-Dit! Transform and get ready for a serious battle!" she declared.

"Ditto!" Mini-Dit shouted, transforming into a small version of Tauros.

"Serious... Battle?" Mondo repeated, and couldn't help but laugh at the toy-sized tauros. "Alright then, Miss Duplica! I'd be honored to accept a battle with you. I won't lose, though."

"Don't take this the wrong way Mondo, but you seem like an amateur," Duplica commented.

"Maybe compared to you," Mondo admitted. He glanced at Tauros, realizing he shouldn't use his tired pokemon in this battle. Besides, Tauros would be needed later to help him carry the heavy bag. So there was only one option left. "Go, Ditto!" Mondo shouted, throwing his other pokeball.

Ditto appeared in front of him. "Ditto!" it called.

"Well, at least you have enough faith in your own pokemon to rely on it instead of a 'special' ditto," Duplica said.

"I'd imagine these ditto would be loyal to you, so useless to me against you," Mondo said, then waved his hand to his ditto. "Ditto, transform!" he ordered, pointing at Tauros.

"Ditto!" Ditto shouted before transforming into a perfect copy of the pokemon beside it. A large tauros now faced a miniature one, ready to battle.

Mondo beamed with confidence. He knew he didn't have Duplica's expertise, but he was only copying his own pokemon. Both himself and Ditto were familiar enough with Tauros's attacks. "Ditto, take down attack, now!"

"Mini-Dit, rock smash!"

Mondo's Ditto felt backward. Mondo's face fell in surprise as Duplica's small pokemon's attack affected his own pokemon more than expected. Mondo's tauros didn't know rock smash, but Mini-Dit apparently did, and a tauros was compatible with the move. Mondo's ditto took a fair amount of damage, first from the recoil of its own attack and then from Mini-Dit's super effective attack. Mondo felt tears of frustration enter his eyes. His ditto was still standing, but it couldn't win. Even if tauros itself fought, they wouldn't win. Mondo was never the best trainer, and Duplica was an expert, a ditto champion. He wouldn't win, not even against her weakest pokemon alone.

But he had to win. Once he brought these ditto back home, not only would Team Rocket's power increase, but so would the motivation of all of its members. Everyone would feel the same enthusiasm that Mondo did for their goals, and Team Rocket would make progress faster and faster. Mondo's life would be exciting again, and he would be able to do his work without thinking of it as a job.

Unless he failed. Then he'd have his job, but that would be it. The days would drag on again, and he'd have to trudge through the painful apathy of Team Rocket's members again. Mondo grit his teeth. He wouldn't allow it. Everyone would be able to feel as excited as he was upon stealing these favorite ditto. They'd do any 'work' required of them with nothing but joy, having fun as they made the world fall to Team Rocket's knees.

Mondo grabbed the bag attached to Tauros as if to lean on it. "Ditto," he began, pointing his hand forward, instead of right in front of him, to the side, away from the bridge and toward the traffic. "Take down attack!"

"Tauros!" Ditto called its own loud imitation of a tauros as it ran toward more aggressively than the first time it had used that attack. Mondo also ran next to Tauros, past Duplica.

"Hey, wait. Where are you-" Duplica began, her gaze traveling from the battle to Mondo retreating. As she looked back at the battle, she screamed.

Mini-Dit hadn't taken much damage, but the small had been thrown in the middle of the road. Forgetting about Mondo, Duplica ran toward her pokemon, past Mondo's own ditto which was running to catch up with its trainer.

Mondo didn't slow down, but his ditto eventually caught up, transforming back to its natural state before it jumped onto Mondo's shoulder.

"Nice attack, Ditto," Mondo complimented. Though he had no time to spare during his retreat, he did take a moment to enjoy the sunset, breathing in deeply as he glanced out at the impressive view of the water.

*

As the sun rose, Mondo walked toward the hotel door, happy to be headed home at last. The requested help was on its way, scheduled to arrive early that very day. Mondo dragged his bag out of the hotel, a new one he'd bought with helpful wheels attached. Mondo greeted the people he passed happily as he walked toward the docks of the city.

As he reached the decided meeting point, he couldn't help but sigh as he recognized the agent Pierce. Pierce wasn't in uniform, but Mondo knew him from around the base. About to call out to his comrade, another Team Rocket member walked in front of him.

This was a young lady with long, wavy hair like Pierce, but unlike him and Mondo both, this girl was in uniform. She looked a little young to be in Team Rocket, but Mondo wasn't going to judge. He was happy enough to be accepted to the group himself.

"Shh!" the rocket girl said to him. "You were just able to shout out to my uncle over there, weren't you?"

"Mr. Pierce is your uncle?" Mondo said.

"Right. Uncle Pierce and I go way back."

"I see," Mondo said. It made more sense that someone this young had been able to join based on the recommendation of someone that she knew.

"Anyway, don't blow your cover now that everything's over with. Really good job with your mission here, Mondo. You can relax now. Everyone's going to celebrate when we get back!"

"It was nothing, really. I'm just glad to bring Team Rocket its deserved pokemon," Mondo said, wanting to be modest even with a agent that was even younger than him.

"Come on now, you really succeeded. Let's go tell uncle all about it."

Mondo nodded, allowing himself to relax since the first time he'd come to Unova. He walked to his older teammate, feeling like a weight had been taken from him.

Literally, one had. Mondo realized that Pierce's niece had taken the bag. He didn't have to carry it all himself, now that he was back with his teammates. They could share any burdens until there were no burdens at all. Mondo ran toward Pierce. "Mr. Pierce!" he greeted.

"There you are," Pierce said with a nod. "Where's the pokemon?"

"Your niece-" Mondo began, then looked back. No one had been following him. The sounds of the wheels had gone away just a few seconds ago. Looking out onto the dock, Mondo saw no sign of the other Team Rocket member. "Ah!" Mondo lamented.

"My niece?" Pierce repeated with confusion.

Mondo hardly heard him, already having realized his mistake. Still not ready to give up, Mondo ran one way, then another. There were no children Duplica's age in sight, nor anyone carrying a large bag. The disguise had been perfect. Her eye color had been different, facial expression changed to look like she was completely someone else. Now she was just gone. Mondo had been outsmarted by the genius ditto trainer.

Eventually, Mondo fell to his knees. Placing a hand to his eyes as he tried to stop his tears, he accepted the defeat.


End file.
